Children do not need to be raised! It seems to take just two letters to shift from upbringing to relationship. However, we must fundamentally change our attitude and perspective towards children if we want to create a vibrant, sincere, and loving relationship with them. Children are more in focus in our society than ever before. Constantly new concepts about early support, childcare options, and educational reforms are being developed. Parents wonder: How should I raise my child properly? How can I ensure they are optimally supported? A strange tone has recently crept into all these discussions: suddenly, there is talk of little tyrants who are running circles around us parents. A praise of discipline fuels the parenting debate, and more and more children are being sent to child and adolescent psychiatrists with diagnoses like ADHD.

Katharina Saalfrank turns away from such a problematizing approach to children towards a relationship based on appreciation within the family. She describes the necessity of a fundamental paradigm shift: children do not need traditional upbringing, she believes, drawing from her work with families as well as insights from brain research and developmental psychology. What children truly need to grow up healthy and learn well is appreciative guidance and a stable, constructive relationship.

Those who have listened to Katharina Saalfrank's book will find a new key to a rich and vibrant family life, where the potentials of both children and parents can develop freely, allowing everyone to grow together.